Oh no.Panic starts to invade my chest, but Dom’s mom, Laura, steps in and distracts my mom from saying God only knows what next.
“Sherry, would you like something to drink?” Laura asks and walks over to take my mother’s hand, under the guise of patting it, and then leads her toward the spot on the marble counters where ice sits in a gold-plated bucket and fancy glasses wait beside it.
Sherry glances back only once, to make sure Dom is taking over the conversation with their “target” and whispering, “Central American imports,” toward him, before she goes willingly with Laura.
Dom just offers her a confident nod and wink before turning his attention back to Louie.
“Happy birthday, Grandpa,” Dom says and leans forward to give his grandfather a big hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’m too fucking old,” Louie responds through a chuckle. “And who is this?” he asks, his eyes meeting mine.
“This is my friend Hannah,” Dom says, and Louie reaches out to shake my head.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, hon,” he says with a gentle smile. “It’s nice to see Dominic hanging out with pretty girls instead of letting himself get consumed with that little hobby of his.”
“Hobby?” Dom cracks up. “It’s my career, old man.”
“Meh.” Louie waves his arm in the air. “Surely one day, you’re going to get tired of all that drama and come back to the family business.”
Dom shakes his head on a laugh, while Louie turns his attention to me.
“Hannah, don’t you think Dominic needs to forget about all that police work mumbo jumbo and come back home to Dunn Coffee?”
“Just ignore him, Hannah,” Dom teases. “He’s just jealous that my job involves doing cool shit and he’s stuck counting coffee beans.”
Louie lets out a hearty chuckle. “Hannah, honey, do me a favor and knock some sense into this lunatic. Tell him he needs to quit his little detective hobby and come back home.”
“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “Word on the street is that he’s pretty good at his job. The city definitely benefits from him being a detective.”
He certainly makes me feel safe.
Louie’s smile is warm, and he stands from his chair to wrap an arm around Dom’s shoulders. “You’re right, Hannah. And I might razz hisass, but we’re all proud as hell of him. Pissed that he left us high and dry, but proud.”
“I didn’t leave you high and dry.” Dom smirks. “Now, are you going to spend your birthday party bitching about my little life-or-death hobby, or are we going to celebrate the insane milestone that you’re still living?”
Louie’s laugh is so deep it comes from his toes. “I’m glad you can at least admit it’s alittle hobby. Made my whole damn day.”
Dom rolls his eyes and meets my gaze. “You’ll have to ignore my grandfather. He’s kind of a bastard.”
Louie grins and makes a show of putting his arm around my shoulders. “C’mon, honey. Let’s leave this loser in the dust and go eat some of Laura’s famous chicken salad.”
“Just keep your hands to yourself, old man.” Dom is all smiles as his grandfather leads me toward a huge buffet on a big table in the dining room.
But before we step into the room, I glance over my shoulder, seeking out my mother, and I’m thankful when I realize Dom is already heading over to where she stands beside his father, Jared.
Louie hands me a dish. “Fill your plate, Hannah,” he demands. “Laura always makes too much.”
It’s only the two of us at the buffet table, and I grab an extra plate to fill for my mom.
Louie slops a large helping of the chicken salad he mentioned onto his plate, and I follow his lead, getting a scoopful for both my mom and me.
“Dementia?” he asks from across the table, and I look up at him in confusion. “Your mom,” he clarifies, and I’m surprised by how quickly he put it together, seeing as I’m certain Dom didn’t have a moment to quietly update him.
“Actually, she has Alzheimer’s,” I explain, and he frowns.
“Oh, Hannah,” he says and pauses filling his plate to lock his gaze with mine. “I’m sorry to hear that. My wife, Harriet, had a stroke thatled to her battling dementia for quite a few years before she passed on. May God bless her soul.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
